Mao Asada reworking jumps: Why?

Several of us have asked in various threads why on earth Mao feels the need to rework every single jump. Obviously she's struggling. Obviously the (f)lutz had been a problem for a while. Obviously the 3a isn't working.

She just won a second world title, and a silver medal at the Olympics. So I must ask what was so wrong with her jump technique that she embarked on this program of reworking ALL of her jumps? I must have missed an interview with her in which she answered this question. Anyone know?

3 axel is not working?
In what way?
Maybe you are referring that it messes up the rest of her performance.

I think it is impressive she is reworking her jumps after winning so many things. She wants to be better at skating and maybe wants a better technique. I remember Irina Slutskaya had to do it back in 1999 i think.

It was discussed extensively in earlier threads. In interviews, she said her jumps did not feel right to her last season. She did struggle with them during last year's GP. She recovered in time for the Olympics, but it seems her jump technique was putting too much strain on her body and she wishes to find a method that will allow her to jump more freely. She isn't reworking all of her jumps; it's just that the jumps she is reworking (lutz,flip, 3axel) are the ones that make up most of her programs.

3 axel is not working?
In what way?
Maybe you are referring that it messes up the rest of her performance.

I think it is impressive she is reworking her jumps after winning so many things. She wants to be better at skating and maybe wants a better technique. I remember Irina Slutskaya had to do it back in 1999 i think.

Really? Was that part of the reason why Irina missed out on Europeans and Worlds that season? I remember there was one season where Irina felt so depressed she even thought of retiring.

I think Irina's trajectory was a bit different. She slacked off a bit after early success, was extremely dissappointed when she failed to make Worlds and they sent Volchkova in lieu of her and Russian Fed specifically cited wanting new talent to get experience (as opposed to Volchkova having a markedly better season than Slute). Then she reworked much of her skating, including her lurching-shoulder lutz technique and came back stronger in many ways, not just her jumps.

Mao on the other hand decided to do a major re-work while at the top of her game, which is highly unusual. I can understand why she's doing it, the (f)lutz and salchow need work, and kudos to her for not resting on her laurels. I hope she suceeds, I think it takes time, and this is the right season to do it.
I don't think her axel needs any additional work, it's just a really difficult jump, and toward the end of the last season, it was about as good as it gets. I think she's focusing on her other jumps right now, so it's ok that the axel isn't consistent right now.

She was landing triple axels in practice at TEB and NHK but they look a bit eeked out with no flow and often two-footed/UR. Mao is re-working her jumps with multiple goals in mind which she has stated in interviews. She wants to be able to achieve all 6 triples cleanly in one LP hence re-working the lutz again and bringing back the salchow, she wants to address criticism of her technique in terms of improving flow out of her jumps which she often lacks and of course she wants to gain more +GoE on them in competition.

The problem with this is that the short term results just shouldn't be played out on a big stage where judges are watching and her reputation could be tarnished. In hindsight she would have been better to opt out of this season or just aim for Worlds and skip the GP to take some pressure off and get to work without having to worry about other competitions. However I'm not sure that would have even been an option for her considering her enormous value to the Japanese Federation in terms of ticket sales, TV rights and sponsorship. She IS their cash cow after all.

The other problem is that too many cooks spoil the broth frankly and since 2007 she has had major technical overhauls by Arutunian, Tarasova/Folle scream, Nakabuko (SP?) and now Sato. Her flip entry timing has been changed that many times I'm honestly not sure she even knows how to do a single anymore. She must be so confused

I agree. It's all about being competitive to Yu Na Kim and her high GOEs. Mao's jumps, as they were last season, simply weren't good enough to compete against Kim.

Even with the GOEs being worth less and the Triple Axel being worth more, I think it's a good idea for her long-term success if she were to work her technique as soon as possible for Sochi 2014. She knows there will be younger skaters out there who might be even more formidable than Kim in the jump department.

3 axel is not working?
In what way?
Maybe you are referring that it messes up the rest of her performance.

I think it is impressive she is reworking her jumps after winning so many things. She wants to be better at skating and maybe wants a better technique. I remember Irina Slutskaya had to do it back in 1999 i think.

Click to expand...

Mao reportedly said that she wants to become a more complete skater, by including all the jumps in her programs. She had abandoned the 3Lutz but she is working on getting the edge correct. She is adding the 3 sal also. I respect her for pushing herself to get even better. About the 3A, I read that she was landing it in practice; she is just not ready with her programs yet, it seems. Give her time and she can come back stronger. Mao is a fighter.

I understand where she's coming from. When I was in competitive kayaking my coach wanted me to rework my technique even if it meant a little lower results for awhile, because it would pay off more later. Unfortunately, I didn't have the patience to put up with the embarrassment of bad results too much.. therefore I stayed at an average level and never won a medal at Nationals.. it must be really embarrassing for her to bomb on television like that..

Well, her jump technique isn't that great on her flip and lutz jump, so I think it's a good idea to fix them. But yes, she has definitely tweaked them way too much since she was a junior that I'm not even sure she knows how to do a technically correct flip or lutz jump anymore.

It looks like she has changed the axel a bit because she doing them more in the middle of the ice as opposed to right next to the barrier.

The problem is that I don't see any change in her jumping technique. Just that she lost the rhythm.

Click to expand...

As I understand it, it was Nagakubo who wanted Mao to rework on her jumps. But, Sato thought it was too dangerous. He wants her to improve only the speed and flow to the jump entry. I think Mao is working on the speed and flow to the jumps.

Several of us have asked in various threads why on earth Mao feels the need to rework every single jump. Obviously she's struggling. Obviously the (f)lutz had been a problem for a while. Obviously the 3a isn't working.

She just won a second world title, and a silver medal at the Olympics. So I must ask what was so wrong with her jump technique that she embarked on this program of reworking ALL of her jumps? I must have missed an interview with her in which she answered this question. Anyone know?

Click to expand...

Her jump technique was always weak.

She didn't even do some of the triples in her programs because they were never strong enough.

Mao is now aiming for Olympic gold. She's won everything else already.

If she is to beat Sotnikova, Tuktamysheva, etc. she's going to need every single jump she can get to highest possible consistency.

There is now a four year period to work on her jumps. It's a great opportunity to do some work, which in the short-term is going to set her back, but will yield results in 2014 when it really matters.

I just wish she took a season off to do that because watching her in current shape is painful.

As I understand it, it was Nagakubo who wanted Mao to rework on her jumps. But, Sato thought it was too dangerous. He wants her to improve only the speed and flow to the jump entry. I think Mao is working on the speed and flow to the jumps.

Click to expand...

I also heard Sato didn't want to rework her jumps since it was too dangerous. But Mao didn't seem to be confident of her toe-pick timing when she tried a flip jump in this Grand Prix series. What is happening to Mao?

Specifically, I've always thought her pick was too crossed behind her, close, and "outside" the circle (rather than on it) on her flip.

Her loop was her best (obviously we saw 3loop on the back end of combinations in the past), but now they don't have much trajectory.

One thing about her early time with Tarasova was that she did a good 3lutz for a while. Then it disappeared.

Finally, I think her free leg has gotten lower and "draggy"er, especially in the past two years. There's no reason why most of her jumps don't have enough height and time to have a very clean landing, yet she's almost always close to being too crossed on the landings. I think part of it is that she was so used to doing loops on back ends of combinations.

Although in general early this season it seems like the rest of her skating skills have fallen off, I do chalk it up to being early season. I think her flow, lightness, and extension were the best last year, it's just she had awful programs.

It's just fascinating to me that after her 2006-07 Chopin SP, which was the perfect program for her, she's really had almost all duds that weigh down her skating skills. I think she's been overworking her jumps, whereas they seemed like she just "did" them in the 2005-07 era.

The problem is that I don't see any change in her jumping technique. Just that she lost the rhythm.

Click to expand...

Same here. I saw glints of hope and potential for real improvements with those clips from Nagakubo during the summer, but now it seems like all of Mao's bad habits are coming back with interest. Since Artistry on Ice:

Her jumps have even less flow

Her jumps are lower (which is why she's landing all her 3As forward)

Her pulling into her jumps is thrown off - she looks like she can't decide between height or rotation (and now she has neither)

Her flutz has retrogressed back to 2006 quality, with no signs of trying to hold the edge like how she was in the Nagakubo practices

Seriously, it's like she never worked with Nagakubo at all. Mao or Team Mao needs to stop with the quixotic ideals, withdraw from this season, and just focus on getting her sh*t together because competing isn't doing her any favors since she's just going to second-guess herself on the ice. (end rant)

She was landing triple axels in practice at TEB and NHK but they look a bit eeked out with no flow and often two-footed/UR. Mao is re-working her jumps with multiple goals in mind which she has stated in interviews. She wants to be able to achieve all 6 triples cleanly in one LP hence re-working the lutz again and bringing back the salchow, she wants to address criticism of her technique in terms of improving flow out of her jumps which she often lacks and of course she wants to gain more +GoE on them in competition.

The problem with this is that the short term results just shouldn't be played out on a big stage where judges are watching and her reputation could be tarnished. In hindsight she would have been better to opt out of this season or just aim for Worlds and skip the GP to take some pressure off and get to work without having to worry about other competitions. However I'm not sure that would have even been an option for her considering her enormous value to the Japanese Federation in terms of ticket sales, TV rights and sponsorship. She IS their cash cow after all.

The other problem is that too many cooks spoil the broth frankly and since 2007 she has had major technical overhauls by Arutunian, Tarasova/Folle scream, Nakabuko (SP?) and now Sato. Her flip entry timing has been changed that many times I'm honestly not sure she even knows how to do a single anymore. She must be so confused

Click to expand...

I agree with everything. Most of all she seems so lost right now. Therefore I am glad that she has now a Japanese coach and can stay close to home. This might help her get back on track. Maybe not this season but hopefully the one after that. She is still very young.

What works in her favor is
1) she has a great coach now (unlike Folle )
2) She is now in Japan and will feel better all around
3) She does not seem to have too many problems with injuries
4) She has always been very self-critical and self-driven

Why? Because she has the vision to look beyond just this season. Even if she is struggling with it all right now, she will find having put it all out there to be useful when she finally masters the jumps again in practice.

And because she has won everything there is to win besides Olympic gold, and the next chance is 3.5 seasons away. She has all the time in the world to prepare herself for that. So what if she messes up her GPs and even Worlds. It will all be worth it in Sochi (or so she plans).

And because she was to challenge herself and improve.

Not everything is about winning. Ando won both her GPs this season but she gets much less respect from me than Asada does.

I agree, kudos to her if she wants to take a step back to try to improve. Let's face it Miki and Kira are hardly unbeatable, Mao could have easily rested on her laurels and still beaten them. If she wants to improve her flutz and salchow, this is the season to do it. It's not surprising her axel has gone missing, its such a difficult jump that she needs to giving it top focus to be landing it competition...and she's not, she's focusing on the flutz/salchow/toe. She wants to be at her best in Sochi, and understands she might need to sacrifice this years' results to do that. If she can fix her problem jumps, and skate relatively clean, I'm sure the big PCS will come back pronto, she really has so many great qualities.

Maybe she'll be successful, maybe not. But I really admire her guts and competitiveness.

I agree, kudos to her if she wants to take a step back to try to improve. Let's face it Miki and Kira are hardly unbeatable, Mao could have easily rested on her laurels and still beaten them. If she wants to improve her flutz and salchow, this is the season to do it. It's not surprising her axel has gone missing, its such a difficult jump that she needs to giving it top focus to be landing it competition...and she's not, she's focusing on the flutz/salchow/toe. She wants to be at her best in Sochi, and understands she might need to sacrifice this years' results to do that. If she can fix her problem jumps, and skate relatively clean, I'm sure the big PCS will come back pronto, she really has so many great qualities.

Maybe she'll be successful, maybe not. But I really admire her guts and competitiveness.

I don't think any of us here have the right to criticize her. If she feels she needs to rework everything, more power to her. I admire her for her dedication to improve; as the reigning world champion, I'm sure it's not easy for her to go out and skate in front of thousands in the condition she's in right now. But she knows she needs to do it, and hasn't backed away from anything at all.

I'm sure it's not easy for her to go out and skate in front of thousands in the condition she's in right now. .

Click to expand...

This I think must be the most difficult part of it. To go out there and compete with all the fans , sponsors, critics and media constantly questioning your decisions, agape that the reigning World Champ is not contending for any medals. I don't know how she does it, I'd opt to skip GP completely, but she feels she needs to put her programs out in competitions. She must be of such a strong mind and character, and singlemindedly steadfast in her belief that she's doing the right thing for herself. Who would have though a lady could land 3 3axels in one competition...yet that was her goal last season, and she did it. I hope her efforts will pay off in the long run this time as well.

I don't think any of us here have the right to criticize her. If she feels she needs to rework everything, more power to her. I admire her for her dedication to improve; as the reigning world champion, I'm sure it's not easy for her to go out and skate in front of thousands in the condition she's in right now. But she knows she needs to do it, and hasn't backed away from anything at all.

Click to expand...

I second this post, and the others who are supporting her. I really hope everything pays off for this humble, sweet, determined pixie...and given her track record, she's more likely than not to succeed.

I haven't really taken to any of the up-and-coming youngsters, Japanese or Russian. There is a uniqueness about Mao that I know I'll miss when she retires in the future, which I hope will be after she peaks and reaches her full potential. A gentle soul with a strong internal core, able to whip off 3Axels while executing difficult steps and pulling off divine, fluid positions... I'm not holding my breath imagining there will be another like her for a long, long time.

As I understand it, it was Nagakubo who wanted Mao to rework on her jumps. But, Sato thought it was too dangerous. He wants her to improve only the speed and flow to the jump entry. I think Mao is working on the speed and flow to the jumps.

Click to expand...

Where did you get this information from?

Because I read somewhere else that Asada had literally started re-learning everything from scratch for some of her jumps, starting at jumping singles....